Key Points The U.S. goods trade deficit ballooned to $1.19 trillion in 2022, an increase of 9% from the previous year. This is a U.S. and world record. Imports of electronic goods, machinery & appliances, and vehicles account for more than half of the trade deficit. While China continues to be the leading source of…
China ran a record-high trade surplus in 2022 of $878 billion, equivalent to about 4.8% of its GDP.
Rising levels of foreign direct investment by China into Mexico enables tariff-avoiding shipments of Chinese goods and parts into the U.S.
U.S. steel imports from Mexico have surged despite a 2019 U.S.-Mexico agreement to maintain steel imports at past levels.
U.S. pharmaceutical imports have skyrocketed in the last ten years, with imports from China, India and Mexico leading the surge.
There is a growing consensus in the U.S. and many other advanced economies that we must move away from globalization, and towards more localized economies, less reliant on global supply chains or untrustworthy countries for vital goods. Many can see the necessity for greater localization, but can’t imagine what it will look like. Will it…
A little-noticed speech by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo last week was a rousing endorsement of industrial strategy by a senior Biden administration official as the way forward for the U.S. economy. Raimondo minced no words as she called for the private sector and America’s educational institutions to join the fight to position the U.S. as…
A new International Trade Commission (ITC) report on the distributional effects of trade points out that import competition has negative and disproportionate effects on minority workers, workers without college education, and workers in manufacturing. In October 2022, the ITC published a report entitled “Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers.” (https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5374.pdf)…
The “Green Revolution” promises to produce electric power in a climate-friendly, low-emissions manner for homes, businesses, cars, trucks and other vehicles. There’s just one giant stumbling block. All these clean-energy sources use large amounts of copper. Global copper demand is forecast to double between now and 2035. But copper supply may not keep up. If…
The top 5% and top 20% of U.S. households have enjoyed most of the gains in U.S. GDP since 1970. Bottom 20% have seen almost no gains in 50 years.
